Winning smoked salmon came from where? Sometimes it's the recipe.

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An octet of foodies and fishermen each pursued different paths to smoked salmon perfection Saturday at Pear Blossom Park. At the fifth annual Southern Oregon Smoked Salmon & Music Fest, a benefit for Maslow Project that drew eight contestants and a crowd to downtown Medford estimated around 500 people, contestants shared intricate brining processes — sometimes using obscure ingredients not on grocery store shelves — and fishermen shared the meticulous ways they store wild-caught salmon to keep fish ice-cold yet never frozen. Showing the value of a recipe, check out where first- and second- place Judge's Choice winners Don Drager and Mary O'Brien sourced their crowd-pleasing salmon.